Faith

11 Now faith is being sure we will get what we hope for. It is being sure of what we cannot see. ² God was pleased with the men who had faith who lived long ago.

³ Through faith we understand that the world was made by the Word of God. Things we see were made from what could not be seen.

⁴ Because Abel had faith, he gave a better gift in worship to God than Cain. His gift pleased God. Abel was right with God. Abel died, but by faith he is still speaking to us.

⁵ Because Enoch had faith, he was taken up from the earth without dying. He could not be found because God had taken him. The Holy Writings tell how he pleased God before he was taken up. ⁶ A man cannot please God unless he has faith. Anyone who comes to God must believe that He is. That one must also know that God gives what is promised to the one who keeps on looking for Him.

⁷ Because Noah had faith, he built a large boat for his family. God told him what was going to happen. His faith made him hear God speak and he obeyed. His family was saved from death because he built the boat. In this way, Noah showed the world how sinful it was. Noah became right with God because of his faith in God.

⁸ Because Abraham had faith, he obeyed God when God called him to leave his home. He was to go to another country that God promised to give him. He left his home without knowing where he was going. ⁹ His faith in God kept him living as a stranger in the country God had promised to him. Isaac and Jacob had received the same promise. They all lived in tents together. ¹⁰ Abraham was looking to God and waiting for a city that could not be moved. It was a city planned and built by God.

¹¹ Because Sarah had faith, she was able to have a child long after she was past the age to have children. She had faith to believe that God would do what He promised. ¹² Abraham was too old to have children. But from this one man came a family with as many in it as the stars in the sky and as many as the sand by the sea.

¹³ These people all died having faith in God. They did not receive what God had promised to them. But they could see far ahead to all the things God promised and they were glad for them. They knew they were strangers here. This earth was not their home. ¹⁴ People who say these things show they are looking for a country of their own. ¹⁵ They did not think about the country they had come from. If they had, they might have gone back. ¹⁶ But they wanted a better country. And so God is not ashamed to be called their God. He has made a city for them.

¹⁷ Because Abraham had faith, when he was tested, he gave his son Isaac as a gift on the altar in worship. God had made a promise to Abraham that He would give him a son. And yet Abraham was willing to give his only son as a gift on the altar in worship. ¹⁸ God had said to Abraham, “Your family will come from Isaac.” ^{(A) 19} Abraham believed God was able to bring Isaac back to life again. And so it may be said that Abraham did receive him back from death.